


The Hand That Feeds

by lmharmon



Series: I Design Disasters [2]
Category: Black Sails
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25001893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmharmon/pseuds/lmharmon
Summary: After James is taken to Oglethorpe’s, he is reunited with Thomas Hamilton, and to his surprise, Abigail Ashe. They hatch a plan to take over the plantation.
Relationships: Captain Flint | James McGraw/Thomas Hamilton
Series: I Design Disasters [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956781
Kudos: 32





	The Hand That Feeds

**1716**

**Savannah, Province of Georgia**

James has his face buried in Thomas’ neck. He cannot quite believe this is real.

When they finally break apart, Thomas studies James’ face. “How... why... what are you doing here?”

It’s in this moment that James realizes all of the things he’s going to have to tell Thomas, to admit to him. He does not know where to start.

“Miranda-” James’ voice breaks. He looks down, cannot look Thomas in the eye.

Thomas rested a hand on James’ shoulder. “I know about Miranda,” Thomas says softly, sadly. “And about Peter Ashe. And... Captain Flint.”

James’ head jerks back up. He expects to see some anger or disgust in Thomas’ expression, but he does not. Instead, he finds a sad acceptance. “How...?”

“Abigail Ashe told me.”

“Abigail...?”

“She’s here. She works in the office with Oglethorpe. I’m surprised you didn’t see her when they brought you in.”

James had not. He felt a sudden shame, realizing he likely played some part in Abigail’s having ended up there. He wondered if she would be angry when she saw him, knowing that he had killed her father.

Thomas pulled James out of his thoughts. “What I meant was... how did you end up here? Who put you in those chains?”

“That’s... a long story,” James said after a pause.

Thomas nodded. His gaze wandered over James’ shoulder. “I think the guards want you to go with them."

James looked over his shoulder. The guards who had brought him there were waving him in their direction. Past them, he saw the retreating backs of Silver’s men heading back toward the gate, back toward his old life. He let out a ragged breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding.

Thomas gave James’ shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.”

\---

The guards led James to the laborer's living quarters, a set of three smaller buildings to the left of the larger plantation house. The guards briefly explained that the two buildings on the ends were the dormitories - one for the men and one for the women - and the building in the center was the kitchen, where everyone was expected to take turns preparing meals. They led him into the dormitory assigned to the men. He and the guards were the only ones there, the rest of the laborer's still going about their daily work. James looked around. It was a large, but cramped space filled with bunk beds. There was no privacy. It was a far cry from having his own cabin aboard the Walrus.

James was assigned a bunk and handed a uniform, the same one that Thomas and the other laborer's had been wearing. The guards told him that he’d have the rest of the day to himself, and that someone would be by in the morning to assign him to a work detail. Then they left, leaving James alone.

James changed into the uniform and sat down on his bed. The whole trip from Skeleton Island to the plantation, he’d taken on a quiet resignation, assuming that Silver or his men were at some point going to toss him overboard. When that had not happened, and James had been led to the plantation and to Thomas, he had been genuinely surprised. Now that he was here, and this was real, all he could think about was how he was going to get he and Thomas out of there. And Abigail. This, on the whole, didn’t seem like a bad place. Considering the treatment enslaved Africans dealt with on plantations all across the Americas, James knew his situation could be much worse. But having a benevolent hand to feed you wasn’t the same as being able to feed yourself.

Though the guards had said he was free for the rest of the day, he wasn’t sure that meant he could wander around the plantation unsupervised. So he stayed inside and went over in his head all the information about the plantation he’d gathered so far. The external walls appeared to be about 20 feet high and had spikes on top, and the only gate he’d seen - the one he’d come through - was well guarded, as was the rest of the plantation. He’d seen more guards than laborers. And all of them were armed. On top of all that, on the way into the dormitory, James has observed the guards open a rather complex-looking lock mechanism to get them inside.

Getting out of there was not going to be easy. 

After some time, the laborer's began to finish their work for the day and return “home”. When James did not immediately see Thomas, he got up from his bed and wandered over to the kitchen to look for him. When he still did not see him, he decided to get something to eat while he waited.

Supper consisted of bread, cheese, and pork that had been reheated from dinner earlier in the day. James accepted a plate and a cup of ale and found himself an empty place on the benches in the dining area next the kitchen. He had just taken a bite of bread when he heard someone laugh.

James looked up in time to see Thomas take a seat on the bench on the opposite side of the table from James. He was grinning. “You look ridiculous,” he said, motioning to what James was wearing.

“I’m wearing the same thing as you,” James said.

“Yes, but... it just doesn’t suit you at all,” Thomas said, still smiling. James couldn’t help but smile back.

Thomas looked like he wanted to say something further, but was stopped by a loud gasp from behind him. James looked past Thomas to see Abigail Ashe standing there staring at him, her eyes wide.

Abigail nearly dropped her plate before she was able to sit it down on the table beside Thomas. She then walked around the table and pulled James off the bench and into a tight hug. James hugged her back.

“Abigail, I’m so sorry-” James started.

Abigail cut him off. “You have nothing to apologize to me for,” she said firmly. When she pulled back, she studied James’ face, much in the same way Thomas had earlier. “How did you get here?” she asked.

“That’s a long story, apparently,” Thomas answered for him.

Abigail nodded her head. “I’m sure it is,” she said. She did not press the issue.

James returned to his seat and Abigail went back around the table and took a seat beside Thomas.

“What do you think of this place so far?” Thomas asked James.

James decided to dive right in. His voice low, he said, “I’m wondering how true it is that it’s impossible to escape from.”

Thomas didn't seem surprised by this response - it looked like it was exactly what he was expecting, yet he still looked nervous. Equally quiet, he replied, "In the time I've been here, no one has successfully left this place." 

Implying that someone had tried. And failed. James did not ask what happened to them. But Thomas clearly meant this as a warning to drop the notion. It broke James' heart all over again to realize that Thomas had resigned himself to this fate. "I won't let you stay here a second longer than is necessary," he said stubbornly. "Either of you."

“I don’t think they know who you are,” Abigail said in response. James looked to her. She seemed to by trying to work something out in her head. 

“What do you mean?” James asked.

Abigail looked back at James, her eyes wide and excited. “I work in the plantation house, in the office, with Oglethorpe. The name that was given for the new laborer that came in today was James McGraw, not James Flint."

James didn’t follow. Silver had given them a false name. So what?

“What if you didn’t have to risk getting shot by the guards? What if you could just walk into the office and tell them who you really were? Wouldn’t it worry you to find out you were holding someone as feared as Captain Flint? Wouldn’t you be worried what his allies, or even his enemies, might do to try and get to him? Wouldn’t you want to do whatever he asked? Out of fear of future reprisal?” Abigail asked. 

James realized Abigail made a very good point. The place would certainly be difficult to break out of, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t get in. Perhaps even the threat of it... “How does one get a meeting with Mr. Oglethorpe?” 

Abigail smiled. “I’ll put you on the schedule for tomorrow.”

\---

The next morning, instead of being taken to a work detail right away, James was led by guards to Oglethorpe’s office. The man was sitting at his desk writing. When James was brought in, he sat down his quill and gestured for him to sit in the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

After he’d dismissed the guards, Oglethorpe turned to James and greeted him politely. “Mr. McGraw,” he said. “I don’t usually meet with laborers so early on in their stay here, but Miss Ashe insisted it was important.”

Again, James jumped right in. "Do you know who I am?"

Oglethorpe seemed confused by the question. "You're some pirate who made the mistake of pissing off Long John Silver. Though I suppose if he truly hated you, he'd have just killed you. He was awfully concerned that you be brought to Thomas Hamilton upon your arrival... Perhaps he's not as bad as the stories say."

"And none of that seems a bit off to you?" James asked. 

Apparently not. Oglethorpe simply looked amused. “Meaning what?”

James sat back in his seat. “You think yourself a good man, don’t you? I hear that, for the most part, this place is used to save the disgraced sons and daughters of England, to keep them from further shaming their families without killing them. Looked at from certain angles, that may seem noble, but honestly, what crimes have these former lords and ladies committed? Sodomy? Illegal gambling? Theft? You may think you know who I am, but you don't. Not really.” After a pause for effect, he continued, “My name isn’t James McGraw. It’s James Flint. Captain James Flint.”

The smile fell from Oglethorpe's face. 

“So you know who I am now?” James asked. “You know what I’ve done?”

“Yes,” Oglethorpe said. His eyes darted toward the door. He was probably regretting dismissing the guards.

James smirked. “You know, I really don’t like how you run this place. Actually, I think it probably shouldn’t exist.”

\---

A few weeks later, James Oglethorpe left Savannah and returned to London, to a lofty position within the British Army. He bequeathed his plantation, at James’ suggestion, to Thomas. 

James and Thomas had no idea what they planned to do with the estate, but they knew they sure as hell weren’t going to keep prisoners.


End file.
